


Trippin', fallin', with no safety net

by sweetlittlebutterfly



Category: Chicago PD (TV)
Genre: Established Relationship, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Implied Sexual Content, Unplanned Pregnancy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-24
Updated: 2021-02-13
Packaged: 2021-03-16 19:47:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,333
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28961937
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sweetlittlebutterfly/pseuds/sweetlittlebutterfly
Summary: It's been a few months since Jay finally kissed Hailey in the bar and changed the nature of their relationship. And now it's about to change all over again.
Relationships: Jay Halstead/Hailey Upton
Comments: 11
Kudos: 161





	1. How'd we get here so damn fast?

**Author's Note:**

> All titles throughout are from safety net by Ariana Grande.

Hailey opens her eyes slowly, flinching at the light coming in through the window as the world comes into focus. She glances at the clock, five minutes before her alarm is due to go off. She’s debating whether to try and steal a few extra minutes of sleep, when there’s movement from behind her. A kiss is pressed to her bare shoulder where the oversized t-shirt that isn’t hers has fallen down.

“Morning,” Jay murmurs into her skin, voice still rough from sleep. She smiles into her pillow, something she’s been doing a lot more since they started this, leaning back into his embrace.

“Good morning,” she’s about to turn around, to kiss him, to start something they definitely don’t have time to finish. And then the alarm sounds.

He groans, pulling her in closer. “Don’t get up, let’s stay here.”

“Sure, but you can be the one to tell Voight that we’re letting the criminals of Chicago run wild so that we can stay in bed.”

She doesn’t give him a chance to protest, slipping out of his arms to swing her legs over the edge and sit up straight. She immediately regrets it when she stands, the room spinning around her, and sits down again.

“Are you okay?” Jay’s up and kneeling in front of her before she can even blink, her wellbeing always his first thought.

“Just got up too quickly, that’s all.” She breathes deeply, fighting the urge to vomit.

She plasters a smile onto her face when he still looks concerned and stands again, albeit more slowly. “Come on, we need to get ready.” She disappears into the bathroom before he can argue.

* * *

She’s leaning against her locker when Kim walks in, as bright as always. They have the usual morning chatter. Truthfully, Hailey’s only half paying attention as Kim relays their adventures at Molly’s the night before. Her and Jay had been invited of course, but they’d decided they wanted a quiet night in, just the two of them, giving their own separate excuses.

“Hailey?” Kim prompts.

“Sorry, I’m miles away. What did you say?”

“I asked if you’ve got any tampons, I haven’t had a chance to go to the store.”

“Yeah, sure,” she turns and begins rummaging in her locker, her hand eventually landing on the unopened box buried underneath the rest of her things. She does a double take as she picks it up, a sickening feeling washing over her and for a second all she wants to do is collapse onto the floor and cry. She doesn’t though, just throws the box over to Kim. “Take as many as you need.”

“Thanks, I’ll replace them.”

“Don’t worry about it,” she mumbles, closing her locker and striding out of the room.

She barely acknowledges the others already sitting at their desks, walking straight to the office at the other end of the room.

“Sarge?” She says as she knocks on the door. He motions her inside. “I need a personal.” Voight raises an eyebrow at her. “We’re not busy, my paperwork is up to date, and I wouldn’t ask if it wasn’t important.”

He doesn’t say anything for a few moments and the silence is deafening, but then he nods. “Do what you gotta do. Keep your phone on, we’ll call you if we catch a case.”

She has a hand on the door, ready to leave, when he calls her back. “Is everything okay?”

How does she answer that? Nothing feels okay at all, but she can’t explain that to her boss right now.

“I hope so,” she says simply, thankful when he doesn’t push it any further.

She ignores Jay’s questioning looks as she walks past his desk again, straight out the way she came in.

* * *

Hailey’s greeted warmly when she walks into Med, various doctors and nurses nodding at her as she passes them. She scans the room, spotting the person she’s looking for coming out of the doctor’s lounge. Natalie’s eyes meet hers as she walks towards her.

“Hailey, to what do we owe the pleasure?” She says cheerfully, but she soon drops the smile when she notices it’s not returned.

“Have you got a minute?” Hailey asks. Natalie nods, guiding her into an empty treatment room, closing the door and drawing the curtains for privacy.

“How can I help?”

Hailey sighs, sitting on the bed. She chews on her bottom lip, trying to force the words out of her mouth. Once she says it out loud it becomes real and not just a worrying thought in her head. For her part, Natalie doesn’t rush her, just waits patiently for Hailey to be ready. Finally, with a deep breath, she whispers, “I think I’m pregnant.”

“When was your last period?” Natalie says, immediately switching into doctor mode.

“Six weeks, maybe even two months. I kind of lost track, there’s been so much going on.” With her and Jay’s new relationship, plus case after case at work, she’d not had time to think about much else.

“Have you had any symptoms?”

“I was dizzy this morning, nauseous. And I guess I’ve been more tired than usual, but I just thought that was because of work.”

“Okay, sleeve up.” Natalie reaches into a drawer, pulling out the equipment she needs. She sticks the needle in with practiced ease, connecting up the tube so Hailey’s blood begins to fill the vile.

“You’re much braver than your partner,” she jokes and despite herself, Hailey laughs along with her. She gathers everything up when she’s finished, heading for the door. “I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

She smiles reassuringly as she exits, leaving Hailey alone. She pulls out her phone for a distraction. No missed calls, but there are a few texts from Jay.

_**Where’ve you disappeared to?** _

_**Can’t believe you’ve left me to deal with this lot alone on a paperwork day :(** _

_**Just let me know you’re ok? X** _

She types out a quick reply to tell him she’s fine and she’ll explain later. She’s deep in thought, trying to plan out how she’s going to have that conversation, when she hears her name from the doorway and finds herself looking at the other Halstead in her life.

“Are you okay?” He asks, and it makes sense given she’s in a hospital room and she knows he means well, but God, she’s really getting sick of that question today, especially when she doesn’t actually know the answer.

“Took a bit of a tumble chasing down a suspect, they sent me to get checked out just in case.” She pushes down the guilt as she lies effortlessly. Undercover work has made her an expert, but it’s not a skill she likes using on the people close to her.

“I’m surprised my brother let you come alone.” He smirks at the mention of Jay and she rolls her eyes. Will is the only person they’ve told about the change in their relationship so far and he takes every opportunity to tease them about it.

“I sent him back to the district to do my paperwork, there has to be some perks.”

He laughs, just as someone calls his name as a patient is wheeled in on a stretcher. “Let me know if you need anything.” And then he’s gone.

* * *

She’s pacing when Natalie returns. Her expression is unreadable.

“Just rip the band-aid off.”

“You are pregnant.”

Time seems to stop. She’s not sure if Natalie’s talking to her or not, she can’t hear anything over the ringing in her ears. She doesn’t notice herself being guided to sit on the bed, Natalie perching next to her, an arm coming to wrap around her shoulders.

“I’m not ready.” She brings a hand up to her face and realises there’s tears rolling down her cheeks.

“I’m going to let you in on a secret, no one ever is,” Natalie says and Hailey turns to look at her. “When I got pregnant with Owen, it was very much planned and wanted. But when I got that positive test, I was suddenly terrified. I think I cried on the bathroom floor for over an hour.”

“We’ve only been together for a few months, we haven’t ever talked about kids. I don’t know if he wants them.”

“Do _you_ want kids?”

Somehow that question is harder to think about than what Jay will say. It’s not like the thought has never crossed her mind, but so far her career has been the most important thing to her, everything else has taken a backseat. And up until this point, she’s not been in a position to even consider it. But now? It’s not like she’s a rookie, she knows that Voight would keep her job open for her, that the team would support her. And she has Jay, who’s proven to be the best boyfriend she’s ever had even in the short time they’ve been dating, not that she’d had any doubt he would be. She can actually see it coming together in her head, the two of them raising a mini version of themselves, and somehow that makes her feel more confused than ever.

“Whatever decision you make, for whatever reason, is valid,” Natalie continues when she doesn’t respond. “But if this is something that you want, don’t throw it away because it’s happened a little earlier than you’d like. The timing will never be perfect. And for the record, I think Jay would make an excellent father.”

Hailey’s eyes widen and she opens her mouth to protest, but Natalie holds a hand up. “I overheard Will on the phone to him last week, he made me promise not to tell anyone. And I haven’t, but I am really happy for you both.”

She bumps her shoulder against Hailey’s and she smiles, relaxing again. “He’d be an amazing dad, I know that. It’s me I’m not so sure about.”

Natalie looks like she wants to say more, but they’re interrupted by Hailey’s phone vibrating in her pocket. “Upton,” she answers, hoping that the tremor in her voice isn’t noticeable over the phone. “I’ll be right there.”

She stands, putting her jacket back on. Natalie hands her a tissue and she wipes her eyes, trying to make sure she looks as normal as possible. She leaves the treatment room, expecting Natalie to get back to work, but she walks her all the way to the exit, stopping her when they step outside.

“Call me if you need anything, whether it’s medical or just someone to talk to.” She pulls Hailey into a hug, who sighs into her shoulder, wrapping her arms around the other woman in return.

“Thanks, Nat,” she says as they part and Natalie heads back into the hospital.

Hailey walks to her car, getting in to sit behind the wheel. She takes one more moment to compose herself, before setting off for the crime scene, secretly thankful for the opportunity to push everything to the back of her mind and avoid it for a little bit longer.


	2. Don't know if I should fight or fly

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for your responses to the first chapter! Your excitement really keeps me going.
> 
> I haven't actually seen any of the new episodes (yay for living in the UK where I have to wait forever for shows to actually air) but from the clips I've seen it looks like Hailey has moved into a new apartment. In my head while I was writing, she's still in the house that we saw in season 7, so we're going with it.
> 
> Quick disclaimer that I'm not a doctor, nor have I ever been pregnant, so I'm making this up as I go along.

Hailey’s in bed when she hears the spare key she’d given him over two years ago turn in the front door. It was for emergencies originally, but since they’d been dating he’d begun to use it casually, letting himself in when they leave the district at different times.

She listens as he shuffles about, climbs the stairs, opens the bedroom door. He moves softly, doesn’t turn on any lights, clearly thinking she’s already asleep. She considers pretending. It would be so much easier, she wouldn’t face any questions, she could put off the conversation for another day. It’s so tempting.

But then she cracks open her eyes in the dark, catches sight of him and suddenly she can’t bear the idea. She wants him close, not sleeping on the other side of the bed while she lies awake alone.

“Well, that’s a nice view.” He’s just taken his shirt off, hands pause on his belt as he looks at her, smiling warmly.

“I thought you were asleep.” He continues undressing, moving to put his clothes in a neat pile in the corner of the room. “Insomnia bothering you?”

“Yeah,” she says, and it’s not entirely a lie. He climbs into the bed, opening up his arms to invite her closer. She lays her head on his chest as his arms wrap around her and he presses a kiss to the top of her head. “I’m glad you came, I sleep better when you’re here.” There’s a vulnerability in her words and she pushes down her discomfort.

“Your place is closer to Molly’s, it’s late, it just made more sense.” Even though she can’t see it, she knows there’s a teasing smirk on his face at the blatant lie he’s just told. Sure, her place is closer, but they both know that’s not why he came. “You never showed, thought you were gonna join us.”

“Wasn’t really in the mood.”

Her plan had been to shower and get changed before heading over to the bar. It was only when she got home that the realisation hit her, she couldn’t drink. She works with a bunch of nosy cops, there’s no way she’d have been able to go without any questions. It was Kim she’d texted to say she wasn’t coming, since she’d been the one to organise it. She’d been expecting a text from Jay asking if she was okay, but it never came.

“Hey, you never told me where you went today.” His tone is light, like he’s just asked her what she had dinner. But she knows it’s an act, knows he’s worried about her.

“Just had something to take care of.” It’s an evasive answer, but surprisingly he accepts it. He mumbles goodnight, tells her to try and get some sleep. She lays there long after he’s begun snoring softly. Eventually, after what she’s sure is hours, she falls asleep, the sound of his heartbeat steady underneath her.

* * *

Jay’s side of the bed is cold when she wakes up. She can hear him in the kitchen and wonders how long he’s been awake. They’re both naturally early risers, but she’s usually the first one to get up. She gets out of bed, taking her time to get dressed for the day, before going looking for him. A smile emerges on her face before she can stop it as she rounds the corner into the kitchen.

“You didn’t have to make breakfast.”

He shrugs. “I was up anyway, thought I’d treat us. Sit down.” He places a plate of pancakes in front of her as she slides onto the chair.

There’s a cup of coffee there too and she immediately reaches for it, then pulls back. Wasn’t there something about cutting down on caffeine during pregnancy? He notices, gives her a curious look, but doesn’t say anything. She takes her fork instead, beginning to pick at the food. It’s a lovely gesture, but truthfully she’s not hungry. Partially from the nausea she’s been feeling since she opened her eyes and partially from the knot of anxiety in her stomach.

“Will said something funny last night.”

She freezes. He never mentioned seeing Will. “That makes a change,” she jokes, but she doesn’t meet his eyes. She knows what’s coming.

“Said he saw you at Med yesterday, that you got hurt chasing a suspect.” He doesn’t sound angry, that’s got to be a good thing. She still doesn’t look at him. “Unless you’ve been running around with another partner, I don’t remember that happening.”

It all makes sense now. Why he never texted her when she didn’t show up to Molly’s, why he didn’t push her last night when she wouldn’t tell him where she was. He’s been waiting for her to come to him, but clearly he’s tired of waiting, tired of worrying. This is her moment, she could tell him everything. And yet all she wants to do is run.

“Is that the time?” She says, glancing at the clock on the wall. “We don’t wanna be late.”

“Hailey,” he says, but she’s already gathering her things and heading for the door. “Hailey, please talk to me. I’m worried about you.”

Her hand pauses on the doorknob. She doesn’t want to hurt him, never has. She turns around slowly. “I’m pregnant.”

She watches the news register. His lips turn up in the tiniest of smiles, so small that you’d need a trained eye to see it, but she’s an expert in him. And she knows it’s the wrong thing to do, hates herself for it, but she opens the door and leaves without another word.

* * *

Hailey’s head rests on her hand as the rest of the team mutter impatiently around her. They’re due for a debrief on the progress of their case but Jay hasn’t come in yet. She’d been asked multiple times where he was and her answers had ranged from a polite I don’t know, to snapping that she’s not his keeper.

When he’s officially twenty minutes late, the gate buzzes downstairs. They tease him and he apologies for keeping them waiting, but she doesn’t look up, not until the white paper cup is placed in front of her.

Her eyes meet his as he sits down across from her and he mouths the word decaf. By this point in the morning she’d usually be on her second cup of coffee and she’s definitely missing it already. She reaches for it, taking a long sip. Maybe the placebo effect will be enough. He smiles at her and it feels like she’s being stabbed in the chest. How can he still be so kind to her when she’s been so awful?

With Jay finally here, they begin, each taking turns to relay the evidence they’ve gathered so far. She can feel his eyes burning into her, knows that he’s just as distracted as she is.

“Facial recognition came back as Toby Gardner, previous arrests for possession with intent to distribute. He’s clearly not in charge here, just another player.”

Hailey’s attention snaps back as Adam talks. “Show me a picture?” He hands her the file. “I know this guy, tried to do a deal with him a few years ago.”

Voight perks up. “Is your cover blown?”

“No, deal fell through, there was never any case.”

“Great, so we have a way in. We know where he hangs out, Upton and Ruzek will go in and set up a deal. We bust him and flip him to help us.”

“Dream team.” Adam smirks at her, holding up his hand for a high five. She rolls her eyes, but gives him one anyway.

* * *

The initial meeting goes well. They bump into Toby in a local bar and he recognises Hailey immediately. After flirting for a while, they have a deal set up for later that night. She’s getting ready in the locker room when he walks in. She feels his presence before she actually sees him.

“You’ve been avoiding me all day.”

She looks at him through his reflection in the mirror she’s standing in front of. “I know.”

“You can’t just drop a bombshell like that on me and then run away, it’s not fair.”

She finishes up the eyeliner she’s applying and moves to sit on the bench between them. “I didn’t mean to do it like that. I was going to tell you, I just needed some time.”

“I get why you waited, I’m not upset about that. But why did you leave?”

“Because you looked happy.” She mumbles it, not meeting his eyes, feeling ashamed of herself for running.

“And that’s a bad thing?” He sits beside her, reaching for her hand but she pulls away and it feels so unnatural to shrink from his touch.

“Yes.” She finally looks up into his confused face. “Jay, I don’t know if I want this baby. And I’m afraid that you’ll resent me if I don’t.”

“Is that what you’ve been worrying about? Hailey, I could never.” He reaches for her again and this time she lets him. His thumb draws soothing patterns on the back of her hand.

“I want kids, I always have. So yes, when my girlfriend told she’s pregnant, my first thoughts were happiness. But if you’d have stuck around for longer than five seconds, you’d have known that after that, I started having the same doubts that you are.”

“Really?” A wave of relief washes over. She’d spent the past twenty-four hours worried that she’s an awful person for even feeling like this.

“Of course, do you think I don’t realise how fast this all is? It took us years to get to where we are and now we’ve skipped ten steps at once.”

“I’m sorry.” She shifts forwards on the bench so she can wrap her arms around his neck and he responds immediately, holding her tightly. She feels ridiculous. She’d been so scared thinking about he would react when she should have known he’d have the perfect thing to say.

“Hailey, you in there? We need to get going.” They hear Adam call from outside. She shouts back that she’ll be out in a minute, pulling out of Jay’s embrace.

“We’ll talk properly tonight,” he says. She nods, catching his lips in a kiss before heading for the door.

* * *

“You look awful.”

“Gee, thanks.”

Hailey’s sitting on the hood of the car, Adam pacing beside her. Their dealer is over an hour late.

“I mean you look sick, are you okay?”

She’s not, she’s isn’t sure she’s ever felt this sick in her life. Her hands are shaking and she puts them underneath her thighs to cover it. She can feel her hair sticking to the back of her neck with sweat.

“I think it’s just something I ate, I’ll be fine.”

“You wanna bail? It’s your call.”

Just as he’s spoken, she spots a black SUV driving in their direction. “Too late.”

Toby gets out and walks towards them. Something’s wrong, he looks spooked. She exchanges a glance with Adam and can tell he’s thinking the same thing.

“Got my money?”

“Yeah, right here.” Adam holds up the bag in his hand. Toby walks towards him but Adam moves to hold it out of his reach. “Nah, we get what we came here for, then you get your money.”

His eyes roam over Hailey. The playful flirting is gone, he just looks agitated. When he moves back to the SUV, turning his back to them, she hops off the car to stand next to Adam. “I don’t like this,” she hisses.

“Me neither.”

She turns into Adam for cover while she speaks directly into the wire hidden in the pendant hanging around her neck. “Guys, I think we should-”

“Gun!”

Adam’s tackling her to the ground before she has a chance to react. Her head hits the tarmac, sharp pain immediately radiating through her. He’s dragging her so that they’ve got some cover from the car. Her eyes dart around, they’re unarmed, helpless. Adam’s speaking to her but she can’t focus, her head feels fuzzy. Her hand touches the source of the pain and it comes back coated in red.

“Chicago PD!”

There’s sirens, shouting, commotion. She’s leaning on Adam, her eyelids feel heavy.

“Hailey!”

Jay. She can hear Jay. She tries to hold onto his voice, but her vision is becoming blurry around the edges.

“She hit her head.”

Someone’s touching her, arms hooking under her legs and back. She’s in the air, moving. She rests her head on a shoulder and breathes in a familiar scent. Jay. He’s got her, she’s safe. So she stops fighting and finally let’s herself fall into the dark.

* * *

When her eyes open again, she immediately regrets it, hands coming up to shield her from the unnaturally bright light.

“Hails?”

She squints at the source of the noise. Jay’s sitting by her bedside, of course.

“Oh good, you’re awake.” Natalie walks into the room, looking at the tablet in her hands as she talks. “How’re you feeling?”

“Like I’ve gone three rounds in a boxing ring.”

“Well, your CT scan looks clear. You have a concussion, but you should be right as rain in a few days. I can write you a prescription for some pain killers if you need them and I’ll get you a pamphlet on how to take care of your stitches.”

“Jay’s had enough of those, he can show me what to do.”

He rolls his eyes. “Gets whacked in the head and she’s still cracking jokes at my expense.”

Suddenly something occurs to her. “Nat, what about the baby?”

“I thought you just hit your head in the fall?” She pulls down the covers and begins prodding at Hailey’s stomach. “Do you have any pain?”

“No. But I’ve felt awful all day and now that’s just gone.”

Natalie smiles. “That’ll be the saline drip, you’re fully hydrated. It makes all the difference.” Hailey’s still not sure and it must show on her face. “I can give you a quick scan if you’re worried.”

“Can you?” Jay says, sounding more eager than he probably means to.

“Sure,” Natalie laughs, pulling an ultrasound machine over from the corner of the room.

The wand is placed on Hailey’s stomach and she holds her breath as it’s moved around. Natalie stares intently at the screen, which is facing away from them. The room is so quiet that you could hear a pin drop and she swears her pulse is quickening with every passing second. Just as she’s about to ask what’s wrong, Natalie smiles.

“There it is.” She flips a switch and then the room is filled with a quick thumping sound.

“Is that…”

“Your baby’s heartbeat.” Natalie turns the screen towards them and it’s there in black and white. Their baby. Her eyes shine with unshed tears and she reaches blindly for Jay’s hand.

“Is everything okay?”

“Everything looks perfect.” Natalie says, moving around a little more to get the best view.

“It just looks like a blob.” Jay laughs. “A cute one, but a blob all the same.”

“It’s still early, you won’t get any interesting pictures for a few more weeks. I’m not an expert, I’d get an ultrasound tech to date you properly, but I’d put you at about nine weeks.”

She keeps going for a few more minutes until she turns off the machine. Hailey’s slightly disappointed, she could have easily kept watching for hours. Natalie hands her a photo and she holds in her hands as if it’s a precious jewel.

“We’ll want to keep you in tonight for observation, just in case.” Hailey nods but she’s barely listening. She can’t take her eyes off the photo. “I’ll be back to check on you later.”

“Hailey,” Jay begins after she leaves.

“I know.”

“Are we doing this?”

They never did have that talk, but she doesn’t feel like they need it anymore. She’s still terrified, in fact she’s probably more terrified than she was before. But it’s different. She no longer feels confused. That went away the second she heard the heartbeat, saw the screen. She knows what she wants now. And it’s this.

“Yeah,” she says, looking up to meet his eyes. “Let’s have a baby.”


	3. I came to peace with my path

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What I've learnt from this is that I can write angsty, dramatic scenes much more easily that happy, fluffy ones. Not sure what that says about me.
> 
> That being said, I had more ideas for this section than I thought I would and it was getting pretty long, so I've split it up and added an extra chapter to the fic.
> 
> Hope you enjoy. As always, I love to hear your thoughts.

Jay takes his eyes off the road briefly to glance at the passenger seat of his truck. Hailey is staring out of the window, clearly deep in thought.

“You nervous?”

A small smile creeps onto her face as she looks back at him through her lashes. “A little.”

They’re driving to the precinct to tell everyone the news. Hailey’s been off work for the past week to recover but she’s due back on Monday and they need to get this over with so she can be reassigned to something less active.

“It’s just weird, you know. Like I’m announcing to the world that I’ve had sex.”

He laughs. “Hailey, you’re thirty years old, I think most people would assume you’ve had sex.”

“But my colleagues aren’t usually thinking about it.” He throws her a look and she rolls her eyes. “Apart from you, obviously.”

He pulls into his usual parking space and they begin to walk towards the building. He resists the urge to take her hand. In less than twenty minutes they’ll have nothing left to hide.

“Hey, Blondie,” Platt greets them as they climb the stairs towards her desk. “Thought you weren’t back until next week?”

“I’m not, we’re just-” she pauses, glancing between Platt and the gate leading to Intelligence. “Actually, you should come with us, you’ll want to hear this too.”

Platt gives her a curious look, but she barks at someone to mind the desk and follows them anyway.

The team ignore him completely, flocking immediately towards Hailey. He forgets that they haven’t seen her since she left the hospital, he’s so used to spending every possible moment with her now.

He hears Adam apologising again. It hit him hard, watching her be carried off like that and thinking it was all his fault, despite Hailey’s continued protests that she should be thanking him, that she’d rather have a bump on the head than get shot. Jay can’t help but agree.

He catches Voight’s eye through the glass separating his office and jerks his head to ask him to join them. Once Hailey clocks that their boss has entered the room, she moves to stand next to him. All eyes are on them and it’s a little indimating, like they’re giving some sort of presentation.

“We need to tell you all something,” she begins.

“If it’s that you guys are together, don’t bother, we all already know.” Kim interrupts, a smug look on her face.

They exchange a glance, eyes roaming the group to find every single one with a knowing look on their face. “How?” Jay asks.

“I am offended,” Adam says dramatically. “We are a group of excellent police officers.”

“And you guys aren’t subtle.” Kim finishes.

“Right well,” Hailey mutters, a little lost for words. “That’s not all.”

Her hand touches his, a silent prompt for him to speak. “We’re having a baby.” He can’t help but smile as the words leave his mouth.

It’s only the second time he’s said it out loud. He’d told Will a few days ago, presenting him with a keyring that read ‘World’s Best Uncle’. And when his brother’s eyes welled up with tears, he’s not ashamed to admit he had joined him.

The smug expressions turn to shock in a second. For a moment they all stand there in stunned silence until Kim breaks it. “You’re pregnant?”

Hailey nods and then there’s a piercing shriek of excitement before Kim is launching herself at his partner, holding on until Hailey declares she can’t breathe. Adam and Kevin and patting him on the back and even Trudy gives him a hug, which is kind of unsettling but he happily accepts it anyway.

There’s one person that hasn’t uttered a word and he glances over just in time to watch their boss wander over to Hailey. She tries to hide it but he can see the slightly worried look on her face. But then he begins to smile, wrapping his arms around her too. He watches her visibly relax into the embrace and he lets out a sigh of relief as well.

“Congratulations,” Voight says as he pulls back. “Of course, I am annoyed that I have to lose my best detective for a while.”

“I’m right here,” Jay huffs. Just because it’s true doesn’t mean they have to say it.

“You are _never_ gonna survive desk duty,” Adam laughs, slinging an arm around Hailey’s shoulders. “You’ll be bored out of your mind in five minutes.”

“I know,” Hailey says, burying her face in her hands.

“I might have a solution for that.” They all turn to look at Platt. “My number two downstairs has just been promoted, taking over the desk at the twenty-third.”

Hailey’s eyes widen. “You want me to work the front desk with you?”

“You need something light duty, I need someone I know I can trust. And since you’ll only be temporary, it means I can take my time finding someone permanent and not just pick the first person that comes along. It’s a win-win.”

“Yes,” Hailey says quickly, sounding far more eager than she probably means to.

“Great, I’ll file the paperwork. See you on Monday.” There’s a twinkle in her eye as she turns to go back downstairs and he can tell she’s just as happy about this as Hailey is. Platt’s always had a soft spot for the detective.

“Right you lot, excitement over. Back to work.” Voight declares, heading back to his office. Jay reaches into his pocket and pulls out the keys to his truck, tossing them to Hailey who catches them with practiced ease.

“You drive home, I’ll catch a ride with one of these.”

“You’re letting her drive the truck?” Adam says with exaggerated gasp. “It must be love!”

Kim smacks him lightly on the arm as she pushes him towards his desk. Hailey turns to leave but he catches her wrist lightly. “We can do this now,” he whispers, pulling her towards him for a chaste kiss. They ignore the whistles around them but break away when they hear a cough coming from the other side of the room.

“You’re still not doing that here.” Voight says from his doorway, arms crossed and a stern look on his face. Hailey chuckles, promising to see him later before heading downstairs.

* * *

Jay softly gathers Hailey’s hair into his hands as she leans over the toilet. This is their new morning routine. She sits up and he gives her the glass of water on the side that he’d brought in earlier.

“You did this to me,” she says sternly, giving him her best death glare, like she does every morning.

“I’m sorry, babe.” He presses a kiss to the top of her head. “If I could do it for you, I would.”

She begins to get up but pales again. He wraps his arms around her and helps her back down.

“I cannot be late for my first day.”

“I’m sure Platt would understand.”

She raises an eyebrow at him. “I could lose a leg and she’d still expect me to be on time.”

He opens his mouth to argue but changes his mind, that’s probably true.

In the end, they just make it on time. Not helped by the fact Jay had to make a big deal about how she looks great in a uniform. He watches her get settled behind the desk and heads upstairs, chuckling to himself as he hears them argue about the crackers Hailey took with her.

“You are not keeping food at my desk.”

“I am if you don’t want me to throw up all over it.”

Trudy sighs dramatically. “Fine, just this once.”

* * *

With Hailey on the desk, unless the case is so big that it involves the whole precinct, she basically has a 9-5. He’s been getting used to coming back to her place in the evening to dinner on the table and Hailey asking about his day. It was hard at first, the small talk. They've spent so long working side by side, they've never needed to explain their day to each other before.

Hailey’s sickness had slowly disappeared over the weeks and she was definitely back to her old self again. It was rough, watching her struggling and not being able to do anything about it. It’s in his nature, to protect her, to take away her pain.

He’s surprised when he walks into the dark hallway. Same for the living room, the kitchen.

“Hails?” He calls out, starting to think she isn’t even home.

“Upstairs.”

He takes them two at a time, assuming she’s gone to bed early. He worries she’s not feeling well again. But that’s far from what he finds.

Jay opens the door to her bedroom. She’s on the bed, leaning back on the pillows. His eyes travel up her legs, to the red lace that (barely) covers her. A matching robe hangs loosely around her shoulders. And when he finally makes it up to look in her eye, she smiles shyly at him. “Hi.”

“Hi,” he repeats. “This is different.”

She sits up, shuffling to the end of the bed and getting onto her knees. He comes closer, hands going to her waist and hers wrapping around his neck. “Well, I know it’s been a while.” He opens his mouth, but she puts a finger to his lips. “Yeah, I know it’s not my fault. But I’m good now.” She leans in to whisper into his ear. “And I want you.”

He immediately kisses her passionately and she responds in kind. They sigh simultaneously as her tongue snakes into his mouth. She moves backwards to pull him onto the bed and he’s about to follow when something snaps into his mind.

He glances down at her small, but now noticeable bump. “I don’t want to lie on you.”

She looks down too, apparently having forgotten herself. “Right, yeah.” She moves to give him space to lie down, swinging her leg over to sit on top of him. She leans down to kiss him again and he tries to get back into it but his head is somewhere else now. His hand moves down torso, but when he reaches her belly he pulls it back.

She stops, frowning at him. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing, I just- I keep thinking about-” he gestures to her stomach. She pulls on the robe to cover herself. He can tell she’s trying to hold it together, but her emotions are getting the better of her and he lets out a frustrated sigh, this isn’t coming out the way he means it. “I’m just worried about doing something wrong, hurting the baby, or you.”

She rolls her eyes as she stands up. “I’m pregnant, Jay, not made of glass.”

“I know that, but I guess I just look at you differently now.”

He wants to cram the words back into his mouth as soon as they’ve left it. He watches her face fall, eyes shining with unshed tears. “You’re not attracted to me anymore.”

“Of course I am,” he rushes over to her, desperate to smooth things over. “Hailey, you’re beautiful.”

She bats his arms away before he can touch her. “Right, just not sexy.” She turns on her heel, ignoring his protests. “Just leave me alone, Jay.” She mutters, shutting the bathroom door behind her.

* * *

“You’re still here.”

She sounds surprised but relieved and he takes that as a good sign. It’s been a good two hours since she shut herself away. He’d come to sit downstairs, wanting to respect her need for space, but also not wanting to leave without sorting this out. She’s changed into sweatpants and a hoodie that’s actually his but he’d given up trying to get it back a long time ago. She pulls the sleeves over her hands, effectively disappearing into the fabric.

“I _may_ have overreacted, just a little.”

He holds out arms and is thankful when she comes to sit next to him, gladly accepting the embrace. “I’m sorry if I made you feel unwanted. I didn’t mean it like that.”

“I know you didn’t. I think I’m just feeling a bit insecure.”

“Well you don’t have to.” He tips her head up so that he can look her in the eye and he’s not planning to say it but the words tumble out of his mouth and it feels right. “I love you.” They’ve never said it out loud, though he’s sure both of them knew it already.

She smiles widely and he can’t help but mirror it. He leans in, intending to kiss her, but just before his lips can meet hers a loud rumbling comes from between them. “I came down because I was hungry,” she laughs.

“Want me to make something?”

“If by make something, you mean get out your phone and order a pizza, then yes.”

He presses a kiss to the top of her head and gets up to go to his jacket, but she catches his arm before he can get far. “I love you too.”

* * *

“You’re both doctors.” Hailey points her fork across the table as if it’s an accusation. They’re out for dinner with Will and Natalie. It’s something they’ve been trying to do for a while, but every time something comes up, a break in a case or some patient in need.

“Yes, Hailey, well spotted. Have you ever thought about being a detective?” Will replies.

“Being a smartass runs in the family then,” she says, rolling her eyes. “Anyway, as doctors, will you please tell Jay that having sex during pregnancy is okay.”

He almost chokes on his food. “Hailey!” Will looks just as flustered as he feels.

Natalie, on the other hand, is clearly fighting off the giggles. “Unless there’s prior complications, sex during pregnancy is perfectly fine.”

Hailey flashes him an ‘I told you so’ look and he honestly wants the ground to swallow him up.

“These kinds of worries are normal. If it’ll make you feel better, get creative. There’s more than one way to have sex, you know.”

“Yes, I do, thank you.” He feels Hailey’s hand on his knee under the table. He takes it, squeezing gently and is eternally grateful when she changes the subject.

She’s quiet when they get back to hers. They go about their usual bedtime routines when he feels her arms wrap around him from behind, her lips on his bare back. “Are you angry with me?”

He turns around to face her, seeing genuine worry in her eyes. His hand reaches out to stroke her cheek. “No. You could have given me some warning though.”

“If I’d told you, you wouldn’t have let me do it.”

He starts to protest, but concedes. He absolutely would have tried to talk her out of it, he’s already dreading the teasing Will is going to dish out later.

“I’m sorry,” she says softly. “I really was just trying to help.”

“I know,” he smiles down at her. She looks surprised when he pushes her gently towards the bed, hands on her shoulders, guiding her so she’s sitting on the end. She raises an eyebrow when he drops to his knees in front of her.

“What are you doing?”

“Taking Nat’s advice.”

* * *

“You’re doing laundry.” Her voice makes him jump as he looks up from loading the washing machine.

“Yeah, so?”

“You live here," she says, grinning at him.

“Tell that to the rent that comes out of my account every month.”

“Your stuff is everywhere, you do chores, and I can’t even remember the last time you spent the night at your own apartment.”

“Don’t be ridiculous, it was...” he pauses, wracking his brain. Of course he’s been home. Hasn’t he? He tries for a few more minutes, watching her become increasingly more smug before finally giving in. “No, I can’t remember either.”

“I want you to go home.” He feels the panic rising. Has he overstayed his welcome? Is she sick of him already? “And pack up the rest of your stuff. Move in properly.”

He rolls his eyes, letting out a sigh of relief. She knew exactly what she was doing. “Really?”

“Of course,” she reaches for his hand, placing it on her bump. “We’re having a baby, Jay, we should live together, don’t you think?”

“I didn’t wanna assume.”

She chuckles. “Yeah, well, this one’s not gonna wait for you to ask. So what do you say?”

“Yes, obviously.” He feels her smile against his lips when he kisses her. His thumb moves across her belly and he’s happier than he’s been in a very long time.


End file.
